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Heal Yourself With the Autonomic Nervous System

A beneficial effect, produced by a placebo drug or treatment, that cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient's belief in that treatment.

Dr. Joe Dispenza D.C. first caught the public eye back in 2004 when he was featured as one of the scientists in the film What the BLEEP Do We Know? Since then his work in neuroscience and quantum physics has deepened and expanded beyond healing illnesses to living a healthier, happier life. Dispenza dispenses a fascinating prescription for living better to Jason Hartman on episode # 31 of The Longevity Show.

It’s All About the Placebo Effect

PLA*CE*BO EF*FECT nounA beneficial effect, produced by a placebo drug or treatment, that cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient’s belief in that treatment.

Jason wastes no time in diving into Dr. Dispenza’s main idea about self healing, that the placebo effect uses the autonomic nervous system to reprogram the body into healing itself from a variety of health issues. He points to the fact that 81% of people in depression studies see the same improvement as those on medications as an indication that believing that you are on the way to getting better creates a measurable improvement even without introducing a single external factor.

WTH?! (What the Heck)

So…just thinking about healing yourself can make it happen? That is the thrust of what Dr. Dispenza claims, and this is from an educated medical professional, not some granola-munching, hippie lettuce abuser. Your body can actually program your autonomic nervous to begin the neurochemical process of healing.

The simple act of thinking (clear intention plus elevated emotion) you’re better puts you in a new neurochemical state of being. Over time, sometimes only a matter of weeks, a person can exhibit real, objective AND measurable changes in body chemicals. That’s exactly what healing is, folks!

The Autonomic Nervous System

Since the average person on the street can’t recite a medically accurate description of what the autonomic nervous system (ANS) actually is, let’s give it a whirl. As a branch of the central nervous system (the seat of the conscious mind), the autonomic nervous system is the subconscious system that regulates blood sugar, body temperature, feelings…some would refer to it as the “automatic” nervous system

The ANS allows us to relive memories and forecast future events, but it can’t tell the difference between reality and fantasy, making it relatively easy to trick. What triggers the release of natural painkillers and endorphins? The ANS, of course! Learn to control it and you have the power of healing in your hand. Or in your head.

What Can be Healed?

Exactly how strong is the autonomic nervous system? Is it good only for hangnails and hummingbird bites, or can it work on something more serious? Dr. Dispenza assures Jason that, once the proper techniques are in place, a person suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and even previously untreatable rare genetic disorders might be helped.

The effect can be far reaching. Dispenza expressed his surprise that they have already exceeded what they thought was possible, leaving the only limit as no limit so far. If a patient is able to unlock the right healing process within themselves, neuro-healing might be able to move into areas where modern medicine can do little more than ease the pain and predict how much life is left. Will cancer sufferers eventually be able to skip the terrible process of chemotherapy?

Maybe.

So what separates this cutting edge neuro-healing approach from other forms of quackery that have preceded? For one thing, Dr. Dispenza does not tout the process as a panacea. He never tells a patient to skip conventional medicines or therapies, but rather encourages them to give his techniques a try, especially if traditional treatments have not provided substantial relief.

The 3 Types of Stress

Our bodies are subject to three types of stress:

Physical Chemical Emotional

While common treatment approaches do very well in creating positive change from a physical (surgery) and chemical (medicine) perspective, conventional medical practitioners tend to neglect the emotional side of healing. Considering the extent to which humans are driven by emotion, this is too big a risk to be left to chance.

Dispenza suggests that anyone interested in his ideas, treat their emotional health as he instructs for three months initially. After taking measurements, keep the neuro-healing plan in place if it’s working. If it’s not, make adjustments and measure again three months later. He also stresses that he is not telling people to heal themselves by thought alone, though that does happen occasionally. There are particular behaviors and actions that are introduced as part of the protocol.

Think Your Way to a Longer Life

But what everyone really wants to know is can this stuff make us live longer? Dr. Dispenza pointed to a study by Dean Ornish performed on men at high risk for prostate cancer. He taught them to meditate, do yoga, and regularly express their emotions. Progress was recorded by measuring telomeres, which are bits of DNA that protect our chromosomes from deterioration.

Telomeres shorten each time a cell divides and are good for about 50 “revolutions” before they disappear. As we lose telomeres, we lose health and show aging. So…you can see why it’s a good idea to protect your telomeres!

Back to the Ornish study. After undertaking their new emotion healthy routine, subjects were able to down regulate 400 genes that shorten life, while lengthening their average telomere by 10% to 25%. Remember we said that life expectancy is directly related to telomere length, so the literal effect of the new behavior was to extend life span.

The problem, as Dr. Dispenza points out, is that quantity of life doesn’t necessarily equal quality of life. What we’re seeing is people who have bodies that outlive their brains. The question becomes is whether or not we want to extend our physical life by 10% but with a brain that has already checked out?

It’s a tough question and one that each of us will have to ponder individually.

Can you break the habit of being you and claim newfound health? Do you even want to? If so, people like Dr. Dispenza can teach you the time tested practice of changing brainwaves through meditation, literally reprogramming who you are.

Who’s up for a possibly life changing experience? (Image: Flickr | Moyan_Brenn)